Living Generously

Eugene Peterson’s The Message captures the essence of what it means to live generously in his paraphrase of Jesus’ words in the fifth chapter of Matthew's Gospel.

43 "You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' 44 I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, 45 for the you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. 46 If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. 47 If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. 48 "In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you. Matt 5:43-48 (MSG)

According to this text, living generously is living responsively. We live in a way that we have experienced life. It is hard for us to do otherwise. That is it is hard for us to be generous when we have not been taught generosity.

Being taught generosity does not necessarily mean that someone has been generous to us. Rather, it might be just as true that we have never been on the receiving end of someone’s generosity. Reflectively, we decide to “not be like them.” It’s almost as if our generosity grows out of dislike for the way someone has behaved toward us. How common is this?

It is more likely that we became generous when we realized how another has been generous toward us, especially God. At some point we become aware that everything we have, our life, even our very breath, is a gift. This outward look is part of our maturing, part of what teaches us that we are not the center of the world, only part of it.

Living generously begins when we begin to respond to the generosity we have experienced. Such an experience is a maturing one. We are growing up when we begin to live generously rather than protectively. A kindergartner’s concept of sharing is “You have it. I want it. Let’s share.” Such behavior is distressing when it is seen in adults. We teach kindergartners the value of sharing. It takes time for them to learn it. At some point— we hope –they get it. Even more importantly, we hope they practice it.

Worship in the real world is dependent on believers living generously, not only in an economic sense. In fact, it almost is a fault of many Christians that they are more ready to give help by giving money than they are to go help by giving themselves. Sometimes the former is the best way to help. However, not always. Churches which allow Christians to only develop as financial supporters and not also as hands-on servers miss the heart of the Gospel.

Living generously is living toward the other. We do not live generously so that we will feel better about ourselves. Christians live this way because one cannot be Christian and live otherwise. Worship finds its outflow in service. The gathered service is meant in every way to be preparation for scattered service. Scattered service without gathered service sacrifices its root. The gathered body of Christ is where Christians plant themselves so that they can extend out as a living limb of the body.